Edward M. Hallowell's Blog, page 5
May 12, 2020
How to Reconnect in a Disconnected World
During this time of physical distancing, loneliness and isolation, Dr. Hallowell addresses “How to Reconnect in a Disconnected World.” Whether you’re learning how to work from home in a job that has always relied on face-to-face interactions, helping your children with their schoolwork with technology limitations, or trying to juggle the basics of life within the new rules of COVID-19, we live in a time of immense stress and worry. Dr. Hallowell is here to help.
In this YouTube video created by the Outspoken Agency NYC team, Dr. Hallowell also discusses worry and toxic worry. He says, “If you don’t worry at all, that’s call denial.” He’ll also share practical and effective tools to eliminate toxic worry and instill structure and confidence into your daily lives.
Physical Distancing and The Other Vitamin C
Dr. Hallowell discusses why we all need to take a dose of the other Vitamin C: Vitamin Connect through creative means while physical distancing. (Dr. Hallowell prefers the term “physical distancing” instead of social distancing.) If you don’t get enough vitamin connect, you do get sick. Studies show that social isolation is as dangerous for your health as cigarette smoking.
Learn practical tips on:
how to maintain your connections with others during these times;
ways to reconnect with others; i.e., friends, clients, make up with that relative, etc.;
keeping yourself and your children focused and productive while working; remotely; and,
specific steps on how to manage anxiety and stress.
Dr. Hallowell will help you better manage your merged environments of work and home and feel more confident in tackling the challenges you’re facing right now.
Click here to WATCH NOW!
For more information on hiring Dr. Hallowell to speak at your virtual or live event, learn more at: www.outspokenagency.com/ned-hallowell
“Connection is like the keys in the ignition. The keys are there, waiting to be taken. We only have to reach in.”
What to know more about harnessing the power of connections? Click HERE!
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May 8, 2020
ADHD: Negative and Positive Traits
Although I’m known for talking about the advantages of having ADHD, in my YouTube video on ADHD: Negative and Positive Traits, I acknowledge the flip side of the trait.
As one of my patients recently said to me “ADHD Sucks.” Consequently, I understand why someone with ADHD could get mad at me for having the temerity to say, “having ADHD is actually a good thing.” Even more so when they’re dealing with the negative traits.
In this video on the Negative and Positive Traits of ADHD, you’ll learn:
about the negative traits and how having ADHD can negatively affect your life;
its positive traits;
advice on what you can do about it; and
the importance of accepting who you are.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

Pediatric neurologist and ADHD expert, Sarah Cheyette MD joins me in this episode. We talk about how learning you have the condition can be life changing.
LISTEN NOW.
For those of us who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD,) anger is common and can be a big problem. Now is a particularly tough time for people with ADHD. Especially since people with ADHD don’t like being told what to do. As a result, having to “shelter-in-place” because of Covid-19 causes us to feel “fenced in.” This sets us “ADDers” up to be unusually prone to anger. Click HERE to learn about ADHD and Anger.
If you think you have ADHD, but haven’t been diagnosed, learn about ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment – What You Should Know.
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May 5, 2020
Tired? Sad? On Edge?
Now that the novelty of living life in a pandemic has worn off, we’re finding ourselves feeling more tired, sad and on-edge. Likewise, it may seem strange to be so exhausted after doing “nothing” all day, but it’s totally normal under these circumstances.
In this Distraction podcast on: “The Side Effects of Our New Normal,” Dr. Hallowell opens up about how fatigued he’s been feeling lately. He asks listeners to do the same. One of the reasons he cites for feeling so tired is a lack of Vitamin Connect – the other vitamin C.
This is a great Distraction episode on the side effects of social distancing and the importance of why we need to stay virtually connected even during quarantine.
Click here to LISTEN.
We will all get through this together! Let us know how you’re holding up. Share your thoughts with Dr. Hallowell at Distracting by sending an email or voice memo to connect@distractionpodcast.com.
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May 4, 2020
ADHD and ANGER
For those of us who have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD,) anger is common and can be a big problem. Now is a particularly tough time for people with ADHD. People with ADHD don’t like being told what to do. So having to “shelter-in-place” because of Covid-19 and feeling “fenced in” sets us up to be unusually prone to anger.
Instead of waiting for the situation to arise in which you get angry and perhaps become destructive, try developing strategies for dealing with your anger in advance. Try working on ways to reduce the anger and frustration you carry around with you.
These methods might include:
Frequent exercise to work off stress
Control of substance use so that you do not lower your level of self-control with drugs like alcohol or cocaine.
Regular practice of meditation or prayer.
Getting a reasonable amount of sleep every night.
Psychotherapy or coaching to learn how to put feelings into words instead of action
Of course, anger can get the better of everyone from time to time, whether you have ADHD or not. When anger gets the best of you, however, accept the human inevitability of messing up and do not let the sinking feeling of here-we-go-again devastate you. Instead, learn from the experience and say, “I messed up. I apologize. Let me make it right.”
In this YouTube Video on ADHD and Anger, I discuss how to identify and watch out for your triggers and why now is a particularly tough time for people with ADHD. You’ll also learn how to manage your expectations, reign in your tendency to loose control and why it’s important to connect with others.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH!
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April 30, 2020
COVID-19 Update HALLOWELL Boston MetroWest
Greetings,
COVID-19 Update – On behalf of all of us here at the Hallowell Center Boston MetroWest, located on Rt. 117 in Sudbury, I want you all to know we are open and fully operational during this pandemic.
Of course, to do this, we’ve had to make some changes. We are “seeing” our patients via Zoom or other virtual platform, or over the telephone. We prefer the virtual platforms as they allow for a deeper connection than the telephone, but if the telephone is all you’ve got, that’s fine.
As for prescriptions, we mail them out so you need not come to the office to get them, and we offer remote follow-up on questions regarding all medications.
NEW PATIENTS:
We welcome new patients during this time. We have more flexibility than ever and can accommodate you or your child quickly. Refusing to let the virus prevent us from serving you, we are able to do a full diagnostic assessment of children and adults via Zoom or other platform, without asking the patient to leave home.
If you wish to learn more about becoming a new patient, just send us an email to: hallowellreferralssudbury@gmail.com or fill out the form at the bottom of the page. We’re eager to hear from you and share with you our unique strength-based approach. At the Hallowell Center, we don’t treat disorders or disabilities; we help people of all ages unwrap their gifts!
TESTING:
If testing is deemed necessary, our neuropsychologists follow the full CDC COVID-19 safety protocols for in-person testing, including providing masks if you do not have one. Now would be an opportune time to schedule Neuropsychological Testing for your child. A neuropsychological assessment can help you understand your child’s needs, how much progress he or she has made, and how best to help them learn and make progress over the next 4 months so they are ready for the new school year.
We also test grown-up children, aka, adults. Adults can learn a great deal from a neuropsychological assessment. It’s the closest thing there is to an MRI of your mind, and is especially enlightening in the world of ADHD.
Prescriptions
If you need a prescription or a prior authorization, please contact the office at 978-287-0810. Our wonderful office manager, Ellen D’Ambrosia, who is both an RN and an MSW, will assist you in getting exactly what you need. Even the people who are paid to deny services, the minions of the insurance companies, say Ellen is the best in the business and are always trying to hire her away from us!
ALL OTHER SERVICES
All our services will be provided remotely for the foreseeable future. Each of our clinicians is geared up to work with clients through virtual platforms, or even just the telephone, although having a visual does enhance the experience.
Learn more about Teletherapy HERE.
Call our office to get instructions to arrange a Teletherapy session.
To reach our front desk to schedule testing, a virtual appointment, change an appointment, request a prescription or get other help or information, please call us at: 978-287-0810.
You may also email your request to: hallowellreferralssudbury@gmail.com or fill out the form at the bottom of this page.
A FINAL WORD
It’s been said before, but let me say it again: we’re in this together. Together we shall prevail, but not without, sadly, tragedy, pain, and loss.
Being in the tragedy-pain-sadness-and-loss business, we want you to know we are here, ready to listen to you carefully, and respond with whatever assistance and wisdom we can.
Human connection is our core value, knowledge and empathy our main tools. We hope you will visit us via Zoom in the days ahead, and that you will feel the positive energy that emanates from us all when we band together.
Warm Regards,
Edward (NED) Hallowell, M.D., Founder
The Hallowell Center
MISCELLANEOUS RESOURCES
Massachusetts Department of Public Health – COVID-19 UPDATE
Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.
“Parents of children with ADHD we are thinking of you! Dr. Hallowell offers five ways to help you manage your kids while quarantined. These are simple things everyone can employ– like having set breakfast, lunch and dinner times. Furthermore, they’ll work even if your kids don’t have ADHD. LISTEN NOW!
Boston Patient Consult
First Name*Last Name*Email*
DOB*Relationship to Patient*
Disclaimer: We do not sell or share your email with any other list. We promise not to SPAM you.
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April 17, 2020
If You Are Desperate…
If you are feeling desperate, down, or full of pain right now, Dr. Hallowell shares in his podcast, some words of comfort with you through a “letter” he wrote a few years ago, after experiencing his own feelings of desperation.
You can LISTEN HERE or you can read his letter below:
TAKE MY HAND
Take my hand. If you are desperate, just take my hand. You don’t have to believe anything, just take my hand. Listen.
It will all work out. It has before. It will again. It will all work out. It always has. It will again.
Whatever it is that has you feeling desperate, it will pass. Nothing lasts as it is. Everything subsides. Even pain. Especially pain.
Stay with me. Take my hand. That’s what I need when I am desperate, and I’ve had serious moments of desperation in my life, more than a few.
Take my hand. Please stay with me. We are in this life together.
All of us. Has someone betrayed you or threatened you? That happened to me, once really badly. I forgave the person only to have that person betray me again. I know. . . fool me once. . .
Have you done something that’s gotten you into trouble? Who hasn’t!
Are you desperately worried about someone you love? That’s especially hard, because you have so little control.
Whatever your situation, you do have me, this voice, at least right now. You also have everyone else in the world, it’s just pretty hard to feel their presence sometimes. Pain isolates us. But everyone else is out there, in some way pumping positive energy your way. One day science will prove exactly how. They’re all there and they’re with us from the afterworld, too, at least if you ask my opinion, but that’s a totally different topic. Now you don’t need opinions, you need real comfort and reliable relief.
Things will get better. Take that to the bank.
You sure don’t need theories or slogans. I Googled “feeling desperate” and got a lot of sites with solutions (usually for a fee, once you entered and scrolled down a bit), Biblical citations, and literary references to books like The Little Prince or Jonathan Livingston Seagull. Those books are wonderful fables, but you need something more immediate right now.
Like a guarantee. Who doesn’t love a guarantee? I can guarantee you, if you hang in there, things will get better.
Pain passes. Humiliation passes. Loss passes. Death takes, and then subsides. Betrayal passes.
If I knew exactly what was bothering you, maybe I could offer better help. But maybe I don’t need to know, because feeling desperate, at its core, is pretty much the same regardless of the cause.
I’m still here. I’m not going anywhere. Things will get better. Just hang in there.
Get angry at me if you’d like to. When I feel desperate, I often get angry at the people who tell me things will get better. How could they possibly know? It makes me mad.
But it’s also what I want to hear because it’s what I want to believe.
Life is so hard. For us all. The good thing is it’s not hardest on all of us at the same time. So when one of us is more or less ok, we can help offer hope to those who are in the depths. It’s how we get each other through.
The Key Is Each Other
Each other. See, we’re the key. That’s not a theory, it’s a fact. You know it, I know it.
We’ve all been in the depths. If you’re there now, I can tell you, I’ve been there, too. Now, I have your hand. Maybe then, you had mine. So we can’t be all that far apart, if you get what I mean.
Being human keeps us close. We all have to play by the same rotten rules. Age, suffer, and die. Lose everyone and everything.
Maybe not everything. As long as someone has hope, there is hope. And as long as there is hope, desperation will subside.
Hope
Please allow for hope. Don’t block it out. It will come if you don’t block it out.
When I’m desperate, the worst moments are when hope, all of a sudden, vanishes, and all I can see are the very worst outcomes. It’s like a cloud blocks out the sun and my world just goes dark. It’s just a feeling that overcomes me, with no warning, in periods when I am living in fear, sorrow, or danger. My world goes dark.
But, sooner or later, the cloud does move on, thank God, and the sun, such as it is, returns. I say “such as it is” because in those periods even the sun doesn’t restore me completely.
It’s a cliché, but still it’s true: life is all ups and downs. Thank God the downs don’t last forever, and I guess it’s just as well the ups don’t either.
If you’re in a down, please let me be with you. Think of me, a person you don’t know, talking to you right now, a person who’s been very down, but who, right now at least, has hope. Think of me just trying to get next to you in spirit to pump in some of the hope you don’t feel right now.
Hope is a potent force. When I’m desperate what I need more than anything is hope. Desperate basically means out of hope. Full of fear, but no hope.
Take my hand.
Now let me transfuse some of my hope into you. Just hold tight, it comes through naturally, just like it did when you gave it to me, back when.
Even if you can’t hold my physical hand, which you can’t of course because you are reading this and you don’t know me from Adam, even so you can still feel as if you were holding my hand through my words. These are words of hope.
They are hard earned words. I won’t tell you all the troubles I’ve seen, but I’ve seen many, and I’ve been places where I felt nothing but fear, where I felt no hope at all.
Let me hold you now. It will work out. It always has. It always will.
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April 16, 2020
Therapy in the Age of Quarantine
At the Hallowell Centers, this damn virus is teaching us a whole new strategy for offering help, and it works like a charm. Thanks to online platforms, in the “Age of Quarantine” we are offering therapy. We can “see” people remotely, and we’re discovering remote doesn’t feel remote at all. It feels almost like we’re in the same room, but there’s no risk of spreading infection.
Plus, no need to leave home, fight traffic, or park. Just pull up a chair, get a cold drink or a coffee, and sit down in front of your screen and see ME! Or any of the many other clinicians who remain ready from their homes to see YOU. The same services we’re so known for, only done from your home to one of our homes. And once this blasted virus goes away, I believe this new way of offering help will be be here to stay.
Remember my #1 rule “Never Worry Alone.” If you need help managing your mental health during these uncertain times, the Hallowell Centers can help you. Even if you are not a regular client or patient of ours and you’d simply like to have an appointment to check up on your mental health during Covid-19, we’re here to help. Just reach out to the any of The Hallowell Centers to set up an appointment.
HOW THE HALLOWELL CENTERS CAN HELP YOU
The pandemic is affecting the mental health and well being of adults and children. You’re daily routines have been changed and you find yourself grappling with anger, moodiness, and anxiety. Covid-19 is taking a toll on your emotional health. At The Hallowell Centers, our clinicians can offer emotional and social support and provide the tools to help you deal with what you’re going through.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Adults and Children (CBT) is an evidence based treatment for anxiety and we have clinicians who can help you.
If you’re struggling with organizing and managing your work or school load, we have coaches who can help.
Getting started is easy. To inquire about scheduling a remote therapy session, contact the center of your choice by clicking that location below.
TELETHERA

Anxiety and Attention Issues: (for 12 – 25 year olds) – Dr Alisa Powers and Lisa Cornelio (MSW) are offering group and individual teletherapy for 12-25 year olds who may be struggling with attention or anxiety issues as well as any other challenges coming up at this time.
LEARN MORE HERE!
FOR PARENTS

April 21 & 28
This group session presented by Marcia Hochman, LMSW, MPA, will provide parents tips and strategies to reduce fear, anxiety and avoid information overload.
LEARN MORE HERE!

LEARN MORE HERE!

Claire Golden, Ph.D.is offering a four-week group session for teenagers to connect with other teens for a weekly progress/check in. In her group, you’ll discuss common problems, trouble-shoot with each other, and provide external support and pressure to get those assignments done! Date/Time TBD.
Individual coaching sessions for teenagers struggling to manage the online learning environment are also available with Dr. Golden.
LEARN MORE HERE!

Entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of our economy, yet the failure rate for new businesses is over 80%! CoreFour Coaching with Rebecca Shafir helps entrepreneurs and wantrepreneurs defy the startup failure rate by strengthening four core skills and routines

Are Zoom meetings making it hard to be productive during the day? Do you find yourself struggling to stay on task while working from home? If you answered yes, join our support group for professionals with Claire Golden, Ph.D and connect with other professionals who are new to working from home! Individual Coaching Sessions for Adults / Professionals are also available with Dr. Golden.
LEARN MORE HERE!
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April 15, 2020
Support for Overwhelmed Parents
Parents are experiencing a great deal of stress and emotions right now in this current crisis. The truth is, many of us already felt overwhelmed before we even heard of Covid-19. The amount of “hats” that parents are wearing right now is quite heavy:
parent,
teacher,
employee,
counselor,
worrier of loved ones,
Zoom play-date scheduler,
and many more!
You are also trying to manage your own emotional rollercoaster of fear, loss, hope, and frustration while responding to all of your child’s emotions, too. If you are finding your own “cup” empty from filling up everyone else’s, you need support.
Shelley MacLeod, LICSW is available to offer support to parents through Zoom or phone appointments. Shelley is a psychotherapist at the Hallowell Center Boston MetroWest. She has more than a decade of experience of working with children and families with a warm engaging style. She is also a mother of two young children.
Support sessions are available Monday through Friday via zoom or by phone. If you would like to set up a Zoom or phone appointment with Shelley, fill out the form below:
Boston Parent Support with Shelley
First Name*Last Name*Email*
DOB*Relationship to Patient*
Disclaimer: We do not sell or share your email with any other list. We promise not to SPAM you.
In his podcast, Dr. Hallowell offers some tips on How To Take Care of Yourself in Times of Crisis.
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April 8, 2020
The Force of Each Other
The Force of Each Other
So here we are, everyone’s stressed out, worried, preoccupied, and otherwise twitched and bewitched by what my friend Ken Duckworth calls “The Thing”. It’s all anyone talks about on TV or radio, and it’s pretty much the driver of most conversations elsewhere. The Thing.
But even before “The Thing” there was life interactive. Back then, BTT, before The Thing, we went to:
restaurants,
movies,
church (well, my wife and I went to church, you may have gone somewhere else),
hair salons (how on earth am I going to get my hair cut now?),
we milled around in malls, and
flew long flights in supersonic jets,
we saw dentists and doctors for the now cancelled elective procedures, and
lastly, we pretty much elected to do whatever we wanted.
Before The Thing – BTT:
we did not fear other people within six feet of us, unless they were malodorous or menacing;
likewise we did not fear making a transaction with cash;
nor did we fear going to the dry cleaner or the cobbler or the fruit stand;
we did not fear aerosols, droplets, or every sneeze and cough, at least most of us did not.
finally, BTT we could breathe free.
But now, In the Age of The Thing, ITAOTT, pronounced eye-tah-ott, which rolls off the tongue more trippingly if you pronounce it EYE-dah-yott, now we see the face of things quite changed. The Thing has worked its way into our lives more intimately than any of us could ever have imagined. It’s changed our daily lives far more than 9/11 did. It’s the first global natural disaster most of us have ever lived through.
What to Do?
I wish I could tell you how to squelch The Thing. But I can only tell you what you already know: keep physical (not social!) distance; wash hands; wear a mask if you can find one or create one; and do your best not to leave your house.
It’s difficult to “fight” an invisible enemy against which your most powerful weapon is avoidance. We are accustomed, when we fight, to engage, to confront, and to battle, either physically or verbally. But now the very last thing we want to do is engage physically with this enemy; our verbal engagements only serve for us to blow off steam, fear, and anxiety.
Each day, we read the daily dismal stats. We get angry at policy-makers with whom we disagree, and we get inspired or at least comforted by policy-makers with whom we agree. Of course, we all love Dr. Fauci, so we all thank God that he is on the case. But even Dr. Fauci can’t wave a magic wand and make it all go back to BTT. We are left ITAOTT.
People Rising to the Occasion
Still, I can’t help but say this has all the makings of our finest hour, as:
more and more people rise to the occasion,
while more and more people put their lives on the line in high-risk essential jobs,
and more and more people stay at home, find ways to secure additional income or make provisions for lost income;
they manage to keep peace in the house and food on the table as the days march by, one at a time, with no real notion of an end-date.
We worry over and pray for the people who live in crowded housing who have no choice but to all but be on top of each other, or crowd into the one elevator in the fifteen story building that works. Additionally, we worry over and pray for the people we could normally roll up our sleeves and go help, but who we now have to steer clear of. Finally, we worry and pray also for our friends, our communities, and ourselves, knowing that even the safest among us is not safe.
What we have is what we’ve always had, only now, ITAOTT, it is different. It is called each other. Friends who do not usually call me or text me have been calling me and texting me. They have no idea what a pick-me-up that gives me. The patients I’ve been seeing remotely still engage with me, only remotely, and we get the work done without missing much of a beat. But it is different, and we both know it. I don’t know how my patients feel for sure, but I think we both feel proud of our ingenuity and glad that we haven’t let the virus stop us dead in our tracks.
Turning to Each Other
Fully mindful that is has stopped an awful lot of people dead, period, I still remind myself that it is each other to whom I turn. To whom we all turn. Imagine, wherever you are, turning your eyes around the world in your imagination, bringing to mind the billions of us who are all rooting together for each other. When was the last time that happened? The collective each other all rooting together for each other?
I don’t know about you, but I think that kind of rooting sets in motion a special kind of therapeutic force, a force of positive energy that can’t but do us all a pack of good. Let’s add to the force of science, the force of each other.
Here’s looking at you, kid.
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April 2, 2020
Status Update Hallowell Center NYC
Dear Clients:
We hope this post finds you healthy and finding ways to manage during this crazy time. Following is a status update for Hallowell Center NYC in April.
The Hallowell Center NYC remains fully operational and ready to meet your needs to the best of our ability.
Remote Sessions
All appointments in April will be by phone or video platform for the safety of our clinicians, staff, and clients as we all continue to practice physical distancing. Note I did not say social distancing. We, at The Hallowell Center NYC, think connection during this time is more important than ever so we need to practice physical distancing not social distancing. We understand that some of you may be uncomfortable with remote sessions but we have all be surprised and pleased at how connected we still feel. Give it a try!
Medications / Appointments
If a medical provider at the Center is prescribing medication for you then you MUST follow the practice policy of having an appointment with that provider every 3 months. Do not put it off!
Jasmine and Jayda continue to do an amazing job at the frontdesk. If you want to:
schedule or change an appointment,
have questions about billing,
updates regarding video/phone sessions or
any other question
please know they are available during our normal business hours. The best way to reach them is through email (frontdesk@hallowellcenter.org). They are checking voicemails during the day but due to working remotely email is far more efficient.
For prescriptions or prior authorizations please email:
Erica (pratt@hallowellcenter.org) or call 212-799-7777 and press #6 to leave a message.
If your pharmacy says you need a PA please be in touch with Erica. Since we are not in the office we are not getting faxes and don’t want to miss anything. Usually the pharmacy will call in addition to sending a fax but during this chaotic time it is best to have a little extra communication
New Patients
Even though we are working remotely we welcome new clients. For any new patient inquiries please email Carey at:
Staying Connected
During this challenging time, stay connected and let us know if there are ideas you have about services the Hallowell Center NYC could offer that could make this time a little easier for each of you.
Stay safe, stay connected, and if you can, look for silver linings (no matter how small.)
Warm Regards,
Edward Hallowell, M.D., Founder
Sue Hallowell, LICSW, Clinical Director
The Hallowell Center
In Dr. Hallowell’s podcast on “Let’s Call It Physical Distancing” Not “Social Distancing,” he encourages us to remain connected to the people we care about during this time of social isolation. It’s actually good for your immune system! LISTEN HERE!
Read Dr. Hallowell’s blog post for his “Secret Ingredient” to strengthen your immune system.
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